Not true at ALL! I'm a VERY recent buyer of a 95 Ext cab (non-Taco), but I've been a Ford junkie for many years...
The Ranger was COMPLETELY redesigned for 98 (97- had the TTB front, while the 98+ are SLA) There are other changes made after that, but they are admittedly not major by comparison.

So far, while I love the "new" pickup, I absolutely DESPISE the look of the Tacoma. The front doesn't look too bad, but the whole shape of the box on them just looks totally wrong to me. The company I work for sold me the 95 when they replaced it with a new Tacoma, and given the option, I wouldn't even trade them straight across for it.

I'd keep your current rig and then buy either a 95- Yota or a pre-98 Ranger to mess around with...